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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — shares
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pop — music
  9. wake — a trail
  10. kid — child
  11. lie — to recline
  12. kid — to tease
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hand — in cards
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. hand — help
  19. stock — goods
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. row — a line
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com